2. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device which facilitates replacing the fuel pump on V-8 gasoline engines manufactured by General Motors Corporation, and more particularly relates to a device and method for holding up the fuel pump push rod connected with the engine cam shaft while a fuel pump is being installed to assure proper operating engagement of the push rod with the fuel pump arm.
2. The Prior Art:
In the prior art, mechanics required to replace fuel pumps on General Motors V-8 gasoline engines manufactured from 1955 to the present time have resorted to haphazard and somewhat inconvenient means for holding the fuel pump push rod elevated while the new fuel pump is being installed on the engine. These haphazard means range from screwdrivers to bent table knives, hacksaw blades, bent feeler gages, and strips of metal. These devices are inserted between the engine block and fuel pump to engage beneath the push rod and hold it up. If the push rod falls during the pump installation procedure, and this sometimes occurs, the push rod driven by the cam shaft cannot engage and operate the fuel pump arm and therefore the pump will not operate, and the entire installation procedure must be repeated. Sometimes, heavy grease is utilized beneath the push rod to hold it up but if the engine is hot, this method frequently does not work successfully.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to eliminate the drawbacks and inconvenience of the prior art through provision of a very simplified device for engaging and holding the fuel pump push rod at the proper elevation while a fuel pump is being installed, and thus assuring proper operative engagement of the push rod with the fuel pump arm when the pump installation is completed.
It is a further object of the invention to take advantage of the location of an existing bolt hole in the engine block which is in alignment with the fuel pump push rod during a fuel pump replacement operation.